Today’s member profile comes from Dr. Geoff Ball, Geoff DC Ball, PhD, RD is Professor and Associate Chair (Research), Department of Pediatrics of Alberta Health Services Chair in Obesity Research Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, and Director, Pediatric Centre for Weight & Health, Stollery Children’s Hospital, Edmonton, Aberta, Canada.  Dr. Ball sits on the Executive Science Committee, and Chair the Clinical – Pediatrics Committee. 

I’m a clinician scientist with expertise in managing and preventing obesity in children and families. My clinical and health services research includes diverse collaborations and projects to address obesity through clinical trials, knowledge syntheses, epidemiology, and qualitative research. Recently, I assumed the role of Associate Chair (Research) for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta, an administrative position that allows me to support and facilitate research activities across a range of areas in children’s health for our 13 academic divisions, 125 faculty members, and numerous trainees.

My colleagues and I have several ongoing projects. Currently, we’re examining the role of adolescent and parent motivation to change lifestyle behaviours, determining the prevalence and stability of ‘metabolically healthy obesity’ in children, assessing the impact of social determinants of health on preschoolers’ weight status, and evaluating parents’ and clinicians’ priorities for child and family health research in primary care. With colleagues and stakeholders from across the country, and in partnership with Obesity Canada, I’m helping to update the Canadian clinical practice guideline for managing pediatric obesity. Our work on the guideline takes up most of my time these days, but it couldn’t be more rewarding, especially since the end result of this project has the potential to influence how clinicians practice and the quality of care received by families.